Crossing Paths
by JJ Rust
Summary: Sequel to Walking Through Worlds.  An accident transports alternate versions of Harry, Ron and Pansy to the canon world.  Now heroes from two different Earths must join forces against Lord Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1

_(The following story begins in the parallel Earth Hogwarts discovered by Hermione in my fanfic "Walking Through Worlds." For POV shifts, "ALT" refers to characters from the parallel world and "OUR" refers to canon characters)_

_(ALT HARRY)_

"I still say the bottomless bag of Bernie Bott's jellybeans would have been a better project."

Pansy Parkinson turned her smooth, angular face up at Ron Weasley. "Of course you'd would, Ron. You think more with your stomach than your brain."

Harry Potter pressed a fist against his mouth. After a few moments he realized the effort was futile and laughed at Pansy's put down.

Ron snorted. "C'mon, Harry. You have to admit this is such a girly project."

Pansy glared at him. Ron ignored her and pressed on. "Security jinxes to keep other people from reading your diary? Like anyone really cares about a shopping spree at Aullmall's Astounding Apparel or favorite sweets or whatever other nonsense girls write about."

"After what happened to Hermione Granger I think it's a very good idea."

"Afraid of a little competition, are we?" Ron grinned.

Pansy's eyes shot invisible daggers at Ron.

Harry grimaced, remembering the mortifying incident when Luna Lovegood read Granger's journal to everyone in the Great Hall. Pansy fumed for the rest of the night. He couldn't understand why. Like he would really dump her and run to Granger because she wrote how she had a crush on him in her stupid journal.

He tried to seek her out the day after, just to say he was sorry for what happened, that he was flattered, but he loved Pansy and nothing would change that.

Every time Harry approached Granger, however, the introverted girl ran off.

Ron thought he was mental trying to talk to, "that flake." He didn't tell Pansy about it, though. He liked breathing too much to do that.

Harry forgot all about Granger when he noticed Ron aim an icy stare across the Great Hall. He followed his gaze to a trio of girls standing smugly around a table. Lovegood, Millicent Bulstrode . . . and Ginny Weasley. Harry frowned. He should have realized bringing up Lovegood's name would make Ron think of his horrid sister.

Ginny must have caught Ron's glare, because she shook her long, flaming red hair arrogantly and deliberately ignored him. Ron grunted and turned away. Harry sighed, thinking of all the grief that wretched girl had put the Weasleys through.

He looked away from the trio of Slytherin girls and gazed around the rest of the Great Hall, the long tables covered with numerous projects for the annual Hogwarts Spell Fair. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sprout, Snape and Trelawney stopped by each project, examining it and talking to the trio of students who created it.

Time passed with agonizing slowness as the professors took their time with each project. Harry slouched and stuck a hand in his trouser pocket, fiddling with the lighter of Blancosflame he used to destroy Voldemort's Wand Supreme two months ago. Playing with it to relieve boredom seemed all it was good for these days. He would have stuffed it in his trunk had it not been for Trelawney's insistence to keep it with him at all times. As usual the Divination teacher never gave him a reason, but since her premonitions proved spot on more often than not, he decided to heed her suggestion.

"Do they look bored?" Pansy nodded nervously at the professors. "They don't seem impressed with any of the projects. Do you think they'll find our project boring?"

"I'm bored just being here." Ron shifted from one foot to the other. "The Spell Fair isn't the same without Fred and George."

"But they never won." Pansy whipped her head toward him, her coiffed dark hair bouncing. "And their stupid projects always cost Gryffindor points."

"True," said Harry. "But at least the Spell Fair was never boring with them around. I'll never forget the one year they came up with the portable swamp."

"Yeah." Ron grinned wide. "Seeing Snape and Trelawney up to their necks in mud was a riot."

Ron and Harry laughed. Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. She probably still hadn't forgiven Fred and George for costing Gryffindor a hundred points for that one.

The professors stopped at the project next to theirs.

"We call it the Anywhere Window." Hannah Abbott turned to her two fellow Ravenclaws, Marietta Edgecombe and Susan Bones. She picked up a small pane of glass with a swirling white light in the middle. "With it, you can check in on any room, anywhere in Hogwarts. It could come in handy for professors during detention. You can go about business elsewhere in the castle and use this to make sure any student in detention isn't misbehaving while you're gone."

"Kiss up," Pansy mumbled as the elegantly dressed Trelawney beamed proudly at her Ravenclaws.

"Perhaps you can give us a demonstration," Dumbledore insisted.

"Of course, Professor. Let's see . . . why don't we check in on the Ravenclaw Common Room."

Hannah pulled out her wand and tapped the pane three times. "Ravenclaw Common Room. _Revealio!"_

The swirling light jumped out of the pane. It spun in the air, growing larger by the second. Hannah bounced on the balls of her feet, her sparkling eyes darting between the light and the professors.

The swirling light just hung in the air. Harry saw no sign of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Ron clasped Harry's shoulder. "Looks like her project's a bu-"

The light shot toward them before Ron could finish his sentence. White filled Harry's vision. A sudden gust of wind nearly knocked him down. Dread burst inside him.

_Pansy! Ron!_

The wind died. The white glare in his eyes faded, replaced by the stone floor of the Great Hall.

"H-H-Harry . . ."

Harry held his breath. He hadn't heard Ron's voice tremble like that since they were twelve.

"Are you guys o . . ." The words trailed off. Harry's jaw fell open.

The Spell Fair projects were gone. The tables in the Great Hall had been put back to normal. Students that had been showing off their projects now sat down to lunch.

"I don't believe it. It's them."

The voice sounded familiar. Harry whirled around, glimpsing the stunned expressions on Ron's and Pansy's faces. He saw the source of the voice, and his body went numb with shock.

He almost didn't recognize her without the glasses and disheveled appearance. But the face . . .

_My God. How . . .?_

Hermione Granger's wide eyes locked on him.

Harry canted his head. Was it really Granger? She looked . . . she actually looked attractive.

A face suddenly appeared in front of him, a face that made Harry stumble back in shock.

It was . . . _him._ He stood face-to-face with another Harry Potter.

_Voldemort._ He couldn't think of any other way to explain this madness. But what would his reasoning for this be?

Harry caught sight of the other astonished faces behind . . . himself. There were exact likenesses of Ron, Lavender Brown, Dean Thomas and . . .

_Ginny? Ginny Weasley?_

Footsteps clicked rapidly on the stone floor. Slowly, Harry turned.

Professor Dumbledore strode up to him. He blinked, his head snapping from Pansy to Ron to Harry.

"My office . . . now."

_(OUR HARRY)_

Harry couldn't tear his eyes away from the other Harry. Goosepimples sprouted across his arms. His counterpart from another Earth stood less than a meter from him in front of Dumbledore's desk. Thousands of questions raced through his mind during the hurried walk to Dumbledore's office. Was his Sirius Black still alive? Did Voldemort threaten him on his Earth? What was it like to have an Aunt Petunia who actually loved him?

The incredulity of the situation froze his vocal cords. Harry could only gape at the alternate versions of himself, Ron and Pansy the entire way here.

"I can't believe you were actually spying on us."

Pansy's sharp voice brought Harry back to the here and now. He saw her aim her narrow eyes at Hermione.

"I wasn't spying." Hermione placed her arms on her hips and matched Pansy's glare. "As I was telling Professor Dumbledore, I was observing your world. And since most of my observations were done in the Gryffindor Common Room and the Great Hall, which are rather public places, you can hardly call it spying."

Pansy's glare became more pronounced. The alternate Harry and Ron both moved their heads back in surprise. From what Hermione told him about her counterpart, they'd probably never expect such a forceful response from her.

"Be that as it may . . ." Dumbledore held up a hand. "The fact is we have three students who do not belong on our world." He peered over his half-moon glasses at the counterparts. "I assure you, I and the rest of the staff will do everything we can to return you to your Earth. And I'm confident the Dumbledore of your world is doing the same as well. Hopefully one of us will find the answer."

"What about these Diversus Cubes Granger was talking about?" asked the other Harry. "Can't we use them to return home?"

Dumbledore frowned. "Unfortunately, they only open a window to other worlds. You can't actually step through them and become a part of that world."

"I suppose the Hannah Abbott here wouldn't know anything about Anywhere Windows, would she?" The corners of Pansy's mouth curled.

"I have sent Professor Sprout to ask her about it, but while Miss Abbott is a talented student, I do not see her being able to create the sort of spell you spoke of."

"Great!" The other Ron slapped the sides of his legs. "So we're stuck here."

"We will find a way to send you three back. You have my word on that." Dumbledore placed his hands on his desk. "To that end, I am canceling all classes for the rest of the day and ordering all professors to the Great Hall to search for a way to re-open that portal."

"Thank you, Professor." The other Harry bowed his head slightly.

"Don't mention it, Harry." Dumbledore got to his feet. "Now . . ." He looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Why don't you take our guests to the Gryffindor Common Room? They can wait there while we sort all this out."

"Even her?" Ron scrunched up his face and nodded to Pansy.

"I _am_ a Gryffindor, whether you like it or not."

"Yes, Ron. Even her." Dumbledore gave them a brief smile. "I'm sure you can find ways to entertain . . . yourselves." He chuckled softly at his own joke.

They exited Dumbledore's office and walked a few feet before stopping. The six stood in a semi-circle, giving each other incredulous looks.

"This is just too weird." A wide-eyed Ron stared at his counterpart.

"So what do we talk about? Or do you already know everything about us?" Pansy gave a sharp look in Hermione's direction. Hermione responded with a scowl.

"My parents." The other Harry turned to him. "Are they . . . alive?"

Harry bit his lip. He could see the desperate hope in the green eyes of his double. His throat seized up. All Harry could do was shake his head.

The other Harry's eyes dropped to the floor. Pansy squeezed his hand.

"What about Aunt Petunia?"

"She's fine," Harry snorted. "So's Uncle Vernon and Dudley."

"Uncle Vernon and Dudley? Alive?" The other Harry smiled at Pansy. "This is great. I never knew them on my world. Voldemort killed them, the same night he killed Mum and Dad."

The other Harry drew in an expectant breath. "Do you think I could see them?"

"You wouldn't want to."

A perplexed look fell over the other Harry's face. "What do you mean? I have to know what they would have been like if Voldemort hadn't killed them. Please, just for -"

"They don't love you . . . me. They're some of the most wretched people you could ever meet."

"Your Aunt Petunia? Wretched?" The other Ron canted his head. "The same woman who always sends me off to Hogwarts every year with a big box of pastries. Mate, you must be out of your gord."

"You don't want to believe me, fine." His eyes locked on those of his counterpart. "If your Aunt Petunia didn't make you live in a closet, or feed you table scraps or look at you with nothing but contempt in her eyes, then you're luckier than me."

He stormed past the alternate Harry, Ron and Pansy. A wave of jealousy roared through him. Even in a world where Voldemort also killed his parents, at least his counterpart had one true relative who actually loved him. He even had a girlfriend, though it was Pansy Parkinson. But a Pansy much better looking and a hell of a lot more decent than the one on this world.

The thousands of questions he had for his alternate self evaporated. He had no desire to open that door again.

_(ALT RON)_

It must have been over an hour before most of the Gryffindors that surrounded them began to drift to other parts of the Common Room. Ron was glad for the respite. Never in his life had he answered so many questions in so short a time. The worst came from the girls. Parvati Patil and Katie Bell seemed obsessed with who was going out with whom on his world.

Half the time Ron had to ask them to repeat their questions. His mind wandered as he gazed around the Common Room. The furniture, the paintings, all seemed the same. But it just didn't _feel_ like his Common Room, not with certain people here and others missing. He couldn't get over not seeing Padma Patil standing next to her twin sister. And how could this be a proper Gryffindor Common Room without the happy-go-luck Ernie MacMillan cracking jokes?

The weirdest part had to be seeing Hermione Granger here. She didn't look like the nutter from his world. She came off much more confident, and not bad looking either.

Ron winced. _I actually thought Hermione Granger was good looking?_

The worst part came when Lavender entered the Common Room. His heart sped up. He stepped forward, trying to find a way around the crowd to get to her, to take her in his arms and bury his face in her thick hair.

Instead Lavender strode up to the other Ron, whispered something in his ear and dragged him out of the Common Room.

A white hot flame burned in his stomach. Lavender with another man?

_Wait. That man is _me

Ron shook his head. Was he really jealous of . . . himself?

He groaned. This parallel Earth stuff would surely drive him mental. He prayed Dumbledore, either the one from their world or the one here, would find a way to return them their nice, normal Earth.

"What if we're stuck here?" The color drained from Pansy's face when she asked the question. She stared at both him and Harry, seated in high back chairs in a quiet corner of the Common Room.

"Don't say that," said Ron. "I'm sure someone will find a way to get us back to our world."

"What if they don't? What do we do on this world? Where do we go?" She turned to Harry. "If what that other Harry said is true, would you really want to go live with your Aunt Petunia on this world? And if I'm in . . . Slytherin . . ." Pansy looked liked she was about to become sick. "What must my parents on this world be like?"

She shook her head and looked away from them. Her jaw trembled as she gazed at the other Gryffindors around the Common Room.

"You all right, love?" asked Harry.

"I don't know." She turned back to them. "It's just . . . the whole time they were asking you questions, they ignored me. I know this world is different in some ways, but for people like Parvati and Katie and Seamus and Neville to not say a word to me? I know that other Pansy is in Slytherin . . ." Again she grimaced. "But can I . . . she really be so horrible?"

"Take it easy, Pansy." Ron gave her a dismissive wave. "We'll find a way back to our own world and you won't have to worry about your 'evil twin' again."

"Again, Ron. What if we can't get home?"

His stomach swirled. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to imagine he'd never see his family or Lavender again.

"Much as I hate to admit it, Pansy has a point." Harry leaned forward in his chair. "We have to consider the possibility we may be stuck here."

"But we can't be." Ron tried to keep the quiver out of his voice. He didn't want to go back to sounding like the scared eleven-year-old he'd been when he first met Harry and Pansy. "Look, along with not seeing our families, there's also You-Know-Who to deal with. Who's going to stop him if we're stuck in this nutter's version of Hogwarts?"

Harry worked his jaw back and forth. "That is a good point. I don't know. If that's the case, we'll just have to hope Professor Dumbledore or someone from the Order of the Phoenix can pick up where we left off."

"But the prophecy. Your connection to You-Know-Who. You know . . ." Pansy swallowed and forced herself to continue. "You know it has to be you who finally faces him."

"That's going to be rather difficult if I'm stuck here."

Pansy chewed on her lip. "Well, if we can't get back, maybe we can help stop You-Know-Who on this world. I think we should get with the other Harry and Ron and compare notes. See if they've already destroyed the Wand Supreme."

"Good idea, love. We might as well do something useful while we're here."

Ron tried to put on a supportive smile. He had no problem doing whatever he could to fight You-Know-Who. But to help the Harry and company on this world against the Dark Lord made their situation seem so . . . permanent. He didn't want to hear any more talk of being stuck here. He wanted to hear someone come up with a way to return them home.

"Well," Harry started to get up. "Let's go find . . . ourselves."

Ron stood and turned around.

The air stuck in his throat when he saw a flash of long red hair appear near the Common Room entrance. His eyes fixed on the round face it was attached to.

"Okay. Which one is mine and which one is the other one?"

She grinned, actually grinned. Ron didn't think her capable of that.

"That's the other Ron over there." A small boy pointed to him. Colin Creevey he'd identified himself earlier. Ron knew of no one by that name back at his Hogwarts.

The girl strode over to them. Rage surged through Ron.

"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley. But I guess you know that already."

She beamed and stuck out her hand.

Ron gazed at the outstretched hand, then lifted his eyes to Ginny's face. He ignored the bright, smiling face before him. He could only see the face of betrayal.

"Get away from me."

Ron stormed past her, somehow resisting the temptation to knock her over.

_(ALT PANSY)_

"Ron. She's not . . ."

Ron disappeared through the Fat Lady's portrait before Pansy could finish her sentence.

Ginny, mouth agape, turned in the direction Ron left, then back to her.

Pansy swallowed, having to force up sympathy for the redhead standing before her.

_It's not the Ginny we know._

"Um, I'll get him." She looked first to Harry, then to Ginny. Ron's sister gave her a suspicious look. Pansy shook it off and jogged after Ron. She caught up to him near the bottom of the stairwell.

"Ron. Ron, wait!"

"Not now, Pansy." He kept walking.

"Yes, now!"

Ron let her catch up.

"Ron, you know that's not the Ginny we know."

"What, you chased me down just to tell me something I already know?"

"From the way you acted back there, it didn't look that way."

Ron snorted and leaned against the stone wall. "Do you think it's easy, forgetting about the last six years? Forgetting about everything she's put my family through?"

"No, I don't. But just give this Ginny a chance -"

"After what she said to my mum and dad!" Ron pushed himself off the wall and flung his arms out. "How can I forget that?"

"That was your Ginny, not this one."

"I know, dammit! But I can't help it. I look into her face, _that_ Ginny's face, and all I can think of is that day, and how Mum still cries over it. You want to be understanding about it, fine! I can't!"

Ron stormed off. Pansy watched him disappear around a corner. She bit her lip, wondering if she should follow.

She took off after him. Pansy stopped when she rounded the corner and saw a T-junction ahead of her. Which way did he go? She ran to the other end and looked around. No sign of Ron.

"Oi! What are you up to?" She heard Ron's voice echo off the walls.

"Ron?" Pansy hurried to the left. She peeled around the corner and spotted him.

"There you . . ." She skidded to a halt and gasped.

Her eyes fixed on the skinny girl with short black hair and a permanent scowl.

_Is that really . . . me?_

The other Pansy Parkinson turned to her, the shock on her face doing little to remove her scowl.

Somehow Pansy's eyes examined the rest of the scene. A shiver went up her spine. A girl, so young she had to be a First Year, knelt on all fours at the other Pansy's feet. Tears streaked her face. Another little girl knelt at the feet of a boy with a pinched face and whitish-blond hair.

It was Draco Malfoy.

"So, this is me from that other Earth." The other Pansy sneered at her. "Quite the glamour princess, aren't we? And a Gryffindor of all things. Argh! I can't believe there's another version of me that would associate with the likes of them."

Pansy's mouth moved silently for a few seconds. "What, what are you doing?"

The other Pansy smirked. "Performing our Prefect duties. You probably wouldn't know about that. You look like you'd be more concerned with fixing you hair and putting on your make-up than having a position of responsibility."

"Responsibility my arse." Ron whipped around to Pansy. "You know what they were doing? Making these First Years lick their shoes."

Her body went numb. Her eyes darted between her smirking counterpart and the crying little girl.

"Not that it's any of your business, Weasley," Malfoy hissed. "But these corridors are out of bounds to First Years. This is just appropriate punishment."

"Like hell it is. If you're anything like our Malfoy you probably made up that rule so you and your girlfriend here could torture poor First Years."

_Girlfriend?_ Pansy felt nauseous.

"It's a helpful rule whenever your shoes are a bit scuffed." The other Pansy cackled. Pansy tried to swallow the mounting feeling of disgust.

"You kids get out of here." Ron waved for them to leave.

"You move a muscle and I'll throw you into the darkest dungeon in Hogwarts," Malfoy growled.

Ron pulled out his wand. "Leave them alone!"

Now both Malfoy and Pansy laughed.

"Weasley, put that thing away before you hurt yourself."

Ron shouted. A yellow flash struck Malfoy in the face. He yelped and fell on his arse.

"Draco!" The other Pansy dropped to her knees.

Malfoy's face turned to rubber. His lips and nose dangled all the way down to his chest. His ears drooped past his shoulders. He tried to talk, but all he could produce was incoherent mumbles.

"Draco! Oh, Draco, you poor thing."

Pansy shuddered when she saw her counterpart wrap her arms around Malfoy.

"Go on, you lot." Ron nodded to the girls, who scampered away

"You'll pay for this!" The other Pansy screeched. "Oh, Draco. Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey. Oh, you poor thing."

The other Pansy helped Malfoy to his feet and led him down the corridor. Pansy watched them go, her legs turning to jelly. She put a hand against the wall as her stomach rolled.

"Pansy? You okay?"

She barely heard Ron. Without a word, she turned and walked to the intersection. She turned and fell against the wall. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Pansy? Pansy?" Ron appeared next to her. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Didn't you see her? Me? Is that what I am in this world? Some rat-faced girl who makes First Years lick her shoes? And Malfoy? Can I really be with him? Do I really let him put his filthy hands all over me?"

Pansy rested her head against the wall. "I'm a good person, aren't I, Ron?"

"Of course you are."

"Then how can I do something so despicable like that? What other horrible things do I . . . does she do? I just can't imagine myself being that way."

"Just like I can't imagine my sister being a decent person."

Pansy blinked, feeling tears stick to her eyelashes. She looked at Ron, who gave her a half-smile. She now saw why it was so hard for him to be in the same room with his sister. How could any of them suddenly accept a good Ginny or an evil Pansy?

She sniffled and hugged Ron. "God, I want to go home."

"So do I, Pansy. So do I."


	2. Chapter 2

_(OUR HERMIONE)_

"I must admit, I've never heard of this Wand Supreme." Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his eyes flickering between the two Harry Potters. "Still, collecting the wands of some of the most notorious dark wizards in history and merging them into a single wand is something I would expect from Lord Voldemort."

Hermione swallowed at the thought. A wand like that could make Voldemort invincible. She prayed this Wand Supreme only existed on the other Harry's world and not here.

"On our world, Voldemort placed them on an altar in the Nefarium Caves, about thirty kilometers from here."

"Yes, I'm familiar with those caves." Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you very much for informing me about this, Harry. I'll contact the Order of the Phoenix and have them explore those caves immediately."

"Thank you, Professor," said the other Harry.

With that, Hermione and the Harrys departed Dumbledore's office.

"I'm going to find Ron and tell him what's going on," muttered her Harry.

"Good luck finding him. The last I saw Lavender was dragging him off to God knows where." Hermione felt anger lines dig into her face.

"Well, I'll try anyway. See you."

Shoulders sagging, Harry trudged down the hall.

"Weight of the world on his shoulders, huh?"

Hermione turned to the other Harry, who stared off in the direction of his counterpart.

"He has a lot to deal with." Hermione tightened her lips and sighed. "But I guess you know all about that."

The other Harry turned to her. Hermione studied his face. Even when she explored his world she picked up something different about this Harry. Something about the way he carried himself.

"I guess this is one of the things our worlds have in common," he continued. "Voldemort's been connected to my life since I was a baby. My mum and dad's murder, The Sorcerer's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, the graveyard where he was reborn, our psychic connection."

"The same has happened on our Earth as well." Hermione felt invisible fingers squeeze her heart. She wondered, prayed, that a parallel Earth existed where Harry Potter didn't have to endure so much suffering.

"How's he been handling it?" The other Harry nodded in the direction of his now vanished counterpart.

"Okay, considering. It's just . . . I wish he could have some sense of normalcy in his life. Some happiness, instead of constantly worrying about V-Voldemort."

"Who says he can't?"

Hermione cranked an eyebrow as the other Harry went on.

"After the Tri-Wizard Tournament, after Cedric Diggory died and Voldemort came back, I just felt . . . wrapped up in darkness. I was persecuted by the Ministry, so many people I considered friends turned their backs on me, and what friends I had I tried to push them away. I don't know, maybe after what happened to my family, what happened to Cedric, I didn't want anyone else dying on my account."

"So what happened?"

A glimmer of a smile traced the other Harry's lips. "Pansy happened."

As hard as she tried, Hermione couldn't stop herself from cringing.

"I know." The other Harry's smile widened. "You may not think much of her on your world. But on mine . . . well, we'd been friends since my first day at Hogwarts. As I got older, I started thinking of her as more than a friend. I don't know what my life would be like without her. She just makes me feel so . . . at ease. I look at her and I know in spite of all the darkness in our world, there is something good. That there can be a future for us beyond this war."

Unconsciously, Hermione's hand moved over her rapidly beating heart.

"So what about your Harry? Does he have someone like Pansy in his life?"

"No, unfortunately."

"Any prospects?"

Hermione's mouth opened, but she could produce no words. She had her suspicions, but didn't feel comfortable revealing them, even to Harry's counterpart.

"It's you, isn't it?"

Hermione almost choked on her own breath. "What!? Oh heavens, no! We're just good friends."

"But on my world . . ."

"Yes, I know. I was there when Luna Lovegood read my, I mean the other Hermione's journal. But Harry's just a friend, more like a brother. Besides, I . . ." Hermione bit down on her lower lip, stopping herself from going on.

The other Harry just nodded. "You fancy someone else, then. That's all right. I'm sure your Harry can find someone just as great as Pansy."

"So do I." Hermione managed a half-smile.

The other Harry took a step forward, stopped, and turned back to Hermione. "And, um, I hope you find someone, too. Knowing what you're like on my world . . . well, I just wouldn't want to see someone like you end up alone like my world's Hermione."

Hermione felt her cheeks flush. Ron popped into her head. So did her counterpart, the last image she had of her before she left that world. A drenched, sobbing, lonely girl without an ounce of courage or self-confidence.

"She doesn't have to be alone."

"Excuse me?" The other Harry's brow furrowed.

"Your world's Hermione. Please promise me if . . . when you get back to your world, please tell her to stand up for herself. Please tell her she's worth something. It's just . . . I can't imagine myself being that way."

The other Harry sucked on his lower lip for a moment. "It may not be easy. After what Luna did I tried to talk to her, set things straight. But every time I got near her she ran off."

"Please, Harry. Just try."

After a deep breath, he grinned and clasped her gently on the shoulder. "All right. I'll give it a go."

Joy swelled within Hermione. She wanted to sprint to the library and grab every book she could findon parallel Earths. She wanted to do her part to get the alternate Harry, Ron and Pansy home, and in turn help her alternate self.

_(OUR HARRY)_

A dark claw dug into Harry's mind. In a shadowy cave he pictured several wands becoming one and the hand of Lord Voldemort wrapping around it

Could it actually be done? He'd never heard of merging wands together. But if anyone could do it, Voldemort certainly could. Harry didn't want to think what kind of power would be at the Dark Lord's command should he possess such a wand.

More worries surfaced. What else might Voldemort have lying about? Would this be his life? Searching out every dark secret of his parents' murderer?

He thought of his other self. He had his own fight with Voldemort, but somehow managed to carve out a life away from it. Yes, it was with Pansy Parkinson, but at least his counterpart seemed happy. When was the last time he could say that about himself?

Harry shook his head as he entered the Gryffindor Common Room. The fires of jealousy roared through him again. He snorted. How could he feel jealous of himself? He wanted to be happy a Harry Potter existed that had a blood relative who actually cared about him, and a girl whom he loved and who loved him back.

"Dean!" A familiar voice squealed.

Harry glanced over to a couch on the other side of the Common Room. His heart tumbled into his stomach when he saw Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley engaged in a tickle fight.

Sighing, Harry went up to his room with heavy footfalls. He found Ron in there, staring at a picture of his entire family . . . well, minus Percy.

"Hey, Ron. I just came from Dumbledore's office. The other me says Voldemort is trying to create some super wand . . ."

"Oh, you mean the Wand Supreme." Ron spun around, a knowing grin on his face.

"You're not . . . I mean, you're not my Ron."

"Sorry, mate. He said something about taking a 'Lavender Break,' whatever that means. Why he'd want a break from a girl like that I have no clue."

"I guess your Lavender's a lot different from ours."

The other Ron shrugged. "Anyway, he said I could have a look around his room if I wanted. I thought it'd be cool to see how much we're alike and how we're different. By the way, where's Percy in this?" He pointed to the picture.

"He's . . . well, he had a falling out with your . . . my Ron's family."

"Percy?" The other Ron drew his head back in surprise. "And here Fred and George joke about what a mummy's boy he is. Amazing how people you've known for years can turn out so different on this world."

"Like you and my Ron."

"Really?" The other Ron leaned against the dresser. "So what's wrong with him, besides not appreciating a wonderful girl like Lavender?"

"It's just . . . I don't know. You seem more . . ." Harry stared at the wall, searching for the right word.

"Is confident the word you're looking for?"

"I guess."

The other Ron nodded and stepped toward him. "Tell me. What happened to your Ron in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Well, after Lockhart's spell backfired, there was a cave-in. Ron and I got cut off and I had to go to the chamber on my own."

"Really? And you still managed to survive?"

"Yeah." Harry involuntarily winced, remembering the basilisk's fang plunging into his arm and the fire in his blood as the poison nearly killed him. "So I guess things happened differently on your world."

The other Ron nodded. "I managed to avoid the cave-in, barely. Lockhart wasn't as lucky. When that basilisk was coming after you, I chucked a rock at its head. Went after me instead and gave you time to get the Sword of Gryffindor. Only I wish you would have killed the bloody thing sooner. I got both my legs broken when it clubbed me with its tail."

The other Ron gave him a wry grin. Harry responded in kind.

"Anyway," the other Ron continued. "After we got out of there, you told me you never would have been able to kill the basilisk, destroy Riddle's diary and save Pansy without my help. My whole life I always felt I was living in the shadows of my brothers, then in yours. The Boy-Who-Lived and all. I decided it was time to step out of those shadows and become my own person."

Harry felt a huge smile form on his face. It faded seconds later when he thought of his Ron. Just standing a few feet to the left or right in that cave and he may have turned out just like the Ron standing in front of him. His Ron wouldn't be plagued by confidence problems or mood swings. He'd surely be a much better Keeper. And he'd probably do a hell of a lot better for a girlfriend than Lavender Brown.

"So what about you?" asked the other Ron. "I've gone on enough about me. Time to hear your story and compare notes."

Harry sighed, wondering where to begin. Fear crept into his mind, fear he would talk about some depressing part of his life and learn the other Harry never experienced that.

"My life's probably similar to your Harry's. I stopped Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone my first year, destroyed his diary my second year, helped Sirius escape my third year, then the Tri-Wizard Tournament my fourth year . . ."

"Oi! You and me go with the Patil twins to the Yule Ball?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we did. It didn't go well with them, though."

"Tell me about it." Ron shook his head. "You were sulking the whole night because Pansy was with Viktor Krum. Parvati got so steamed at you she stormed off, and her sister went with her. And I was having a great time with Padma. I didn't talk to you for two weeks after that."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh well, it worked out. I wound up with Lavender in the end." The other Ron waggled his eyebrows. "So what about you? Who's the special lady in your life? No wait, let me guess. Considering how upside-down this world is, you're probably with that harpy Luna Lovegood."

A spark of anger shot through Harry. He didn't like people insulting Luna. But from what Hermione had told him, "harpy" aptly described the Luna of this Ron's Earth.

"Actually, I'm not with anyone."

"Bullox! You're the Boy-Who-Lived, Captain of the Quidditch Team, founder of the D.A. You should have girls lined up outside your room."

Harry cast his gaze to the floor. There was only one girl he wanted waiting for him outside his room. A very pretty, vivacious redheaded girl.

But after witnessing this Ron's reaction when Ginny had entered the Common Room, Harry wasn't about to tell him.

_(ALT HARRY)_

Harry's heart hammered in his chest when the other Hermione found him in the Common Room and announced Dumbledore wanted to see him, Pansy and Ron.

_Did they find the Wand Supreme?_ Icy needles pierced his skin and sank into his bones. His hand fell to his right pants pocket. Harry felt the bulge of the Blancosflame lighter. It appeared Professor Trelawney's sixth sense was about to pay off again.

After taking their seats in front of Dumbledore's desk, the headmaster folded his hands and leaned forward. "Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin led the search in the Nefarium Caves for the altar you spoke of. However, they found no sign of it."

"Thank Merlin for that." The tension surrounding Ron's body seemed to loosen. Pansy closed her eyes and sighed in relief.

Harry tried to summon the same relief his friends felt, but something kept scratching the back of his mind.

"Are they certain it wasn't there? What if Voldemort was concealing it somehow?"

"Kingsley and Remus used every counter-spell they could think of. They found no trace of it."

Harry drew a breath. Why couldn't he accept Dumbledore's word? It wasn't that he thought the headmaster was lying. But . . .

Pansy asked about the professors' efforts to find a way to send the three of them home. Dumbledore's answer faded into the background. Harry stared at a spot in the carpet.

_Look at all the differences on this world. Why can't the Wand Supreme be one of them?_

Suddenly his scar felt warm.

His head snapped up and his eyes widened. Was it just the warmth of the room, or did his connection to Voldemort carry over to this world?

He waited for it to go away . . . and waited.

A wave of relief sped through him. Harry clenched his jaw. The feeling seemed to originate outside his body.

The shuffling of chairs snapped him out of his stupor. Ron and Pansy rose from their seats. Harry stood, his gaze unfocused, worry snaking through his mind and descending into his stomach.

"Harry dearest, are you all right?" Pansy squeezed his hand as they exited Dumbledore's office.

"I'm fine," he said curtly.

"You don't look it. In fact, you look like you're a million miles -"

"I'm fine, Pansy," he snapped.

A shocked expression fell over her face.

"I'm sorry, love. Just a lot on my mind, that's all. I'm fine, really."

Pansy curled her lips, not looking the least bit convinced. Thankfully, she didn't say anything.

They returned to the Gryffindor Common Room to find two large tables of food set up and students sitting on or around several couches eating supper.

Harry spotted his counterpart sitting on one of the couches, eating with the other Ron, Lavender, Hermione, Ginny, Dean, Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom.

"Special occasion or something?" Harry looked around the room.

Dean shook his head. "All the teachers are still in the Great Hall trying to re-open the portal that brought you here. So the house elves brought supper here."

Harry nodded, and eyed the smiling Ginny, who sat so close to Dean their legs touched. He winced. God, but it looked so unnatural.

"So what did Professor Dumbledore say?" asked Hermione.

"He sent some members of the Order to search the caves, but they couldn't find any sign of the Wand Supreme."

"Well thank God for that." The other Ron sank deeper into the couch. "I don't even want to think of what You-Know-Who could do with a wand like that."

"Yeah, I guess we're pretty lucky."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his counterpart's statement. He studied the other Harry and noticed the furrows on his forehead.

_Is that what I look like when I'm worried?_

"Well now that we don't have to worry about a Wand Supreme on this Earth," said Ron. "I'm getting something to eat. I'm starving."

"Oh, what a surprise." Pansy smirked. "Ron Weasley is hungry."

Ron threw out his arms. "I didn't have lunch today."

"Well, let's get you some food before you faint from starvation." Pansy gave him a gentle nudge. She and Ron were halfway to the buffet when she turned around. "Coming, dearest?"

"Um, in a minute, love. Harry here promised to show me his broom."

His counterpart's face scrunched in confusion. "Huh?"

"Yeah. I wanted to check out the differences from the one I had." Harry twitched his head in the direction of the dorm rooms. He silently mouthed, _"Please."_

"Um, okay." The other Harry stood, eying him with bewilderment.

"Harry, can't this wait? It's suppertime."

"I'll only be a minute. C'mon, Harry."

He strode off to the dorm rooms, the other Harry picking up his pace to keep up.

"Since when did I tell you I'd show you my broom?" The other Harry asked when they reached his room.

"All right, I know you didn't. But I had to make up some excuse to get us out of the Common Room."

The other Harry leaned against the doorframe. "You don't believe Dumbledore. You think that wand is in the Nefarium Caves."

Harry drew his head back in surprise. "Scary how we think alike, isn't it? Look, it's not that I don't believe Dumbledore. It's just, I have a feeling . . ."

"Is your scar bothering you?"

A shiver went up Harry's spine. He swallowed and rubbed his forehead. "You too?"

His counterpart's mouth tightened as he nodded silently.

"It didn't hurt like it normally does," said Harry. "And I also felt . . ."

"Something like a sense of relief."

Harry's eyes widened when his counterpart finished his sentence. For a second he thought Fred and George Weasley had possessed them.

He snorted and marched toward his . . . his counterpart's bed. "Maybe the Wand Supreme exists on your world, or maybe I'm just being paranoid. Either way, I won't feel better until I've searched those caves myself."

Harry pulled out his trunk from under the bed, opened it and pulled out his broom.

"Excuse me. That's _my_ broom."

Harry looked to his irritated counterpart, then to the broom in his hands. "Sorry. Thought I was . . . well, you know. Anyway, can I borrow this?"

"You can borrow Ron's. Because I'm coming too."

"You sure?" Harry chuckled softly. "Of course you're sure. You are me, after all."

He grabbed the other Ron's broom, then turned to his counterpart. "Better grab your invisibility cloak, unless you want everyone in the Common Room asking where we're going. Wait. Please tell me you have an invisibility cloak."

"I do."

Harry's counterpart grabbed the cloak. A small chortle escaped Harry's lips.

"What?" The other Harry canted his head.

Harry slapped his other self on the shoulder and stared at the door. "Look out world. Here comes Harry Potter times two."

_(ALT PANSY)_

"What's taking them so long?" Pansy glanced at her watch, then over her shoulder to the entrance to the boys' dormitory. "I can't believe they can spend fifteen minutes talking about a stupid broom."

"Relax." Ron spoke with his mouth full of sausage. "They probably found loads more to talk about. It is his other self he's talking to. How cool is that?"

He turned back to the other Ron, who said, "So when your mother makes Every Berry Tarts, does she also cover it with a mound of icing?"

Ron's eyes widened. "She does!" He pointed at his counterpart, some food flying out of his mouth.

Pansy shook her head. Hopefully the Harrys found more important subjects to talk about than their favorite food.

_At least they have something in common with their doubles._

Pansy's shoulders sagged. She wondered what that other Pansy Parkinson was doing now. Bullying more First Years? Snogging Draco Malfoy?

Nausea rippled through her stomach. She dropped her forkful of grilled Pollimar Fish on her plate.

"I'm going to go see what those two doing." She tossed her plate on a coffee table and stood. She might as well do something useful since she ruined her appetite with thoughts of Malfoy touching her other self.

"Blimey, Aunt Petunia doesn't worry about him as much as you," quipped Ron. His counterpart laughed.

Pansy glowered at both Ron and headed for the boys dormitory.

"Harry?" She walked into his room, but found it empty. Her eyes drifted to an open trunk next to his bed. She bent over it and swallowed when she noticed what was missing.

Harry's broom and his invisibility cloak.

Her heart beat faster when she remembered his reaction after Dumbledore told them the Order found no sign of the Wand Supreme. Instead of being happy, he seemed distracted. Suspicious, even. Did he think Dumbledore could be wrong? Could he . . .

Pansy felt her cheeks grow hot. Not only could he, he did!

"Damn you, Harry!" Pansy kicked the trunk, nearly tipping it on its side. A vice of pain wrapped around her toes. Her anger blocked it out.

_I should have known. Dammit, I should have known._

She'd seen him get that look before. Every time he got some suspicion, be it about Draco Malfoy or Luna Lovegood or Professor Snape, he would not turn loose of it until he proved it right or wrong.

"Pansy, what are shrieking about?" Ron entered the room, followed by the other Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Dean.

"Harry's gone. I mean, both of them."

"So where did they go?" Dean shrugged.

"The Nefarium Caves, of course."

"How do you know that?" asked the other Ron.

Pansy thrust her finger at Harry's . . . the other Harry's empty trunk. "His broom and invisibility cloak are gone. Unless he keeps them someplace other than his trunk."

The other Ron and Dean shook their heads.

"Why would they go there?" A puzzled expression formed on Ginny's face.

"Because Harry, my Harry, won't be convinced that the Wand Supreme doesn't exist on this Earth until he searches those caves himself. And if your Harry's anything like mine he probably didn't need much convincing to come along."

"I wouldn't be surprised if our Harry was the one who suggested they go to the Nefarium Caves." Hermione folded her arms.

"So what do we do?" The other Ron looked at everyone else.

"We go after them," Pansy replied. "Maybe try to talk some sense into them."

"Oh, that'll work," Hermione said with a sardonic laugh.

"Or," Pansy continued, "if Harry turns out to be right and he . . . they do find the Wand Supreme, they'll need our help. Especially if You-Know-Who has his army of giant bats to protect it like he did on our world."

Ron cringed. Fear of bats was the one phobia he had never managed to conquer.

"Well I'm coming too," Ginny said determinedly.

"If you're going, so am I." Dean clasped her shoulder.

"Dean, I don't need a protector."

"And I'm not going to wait around here worrying about you. Besides, Harry's my friend, too. I always said I support him, and now it's time to show it with more than words."

"Oi!" The other Ron turned to them with a distraught look. "They took my broom. Harry took my bloody broom!"

"Just nip Seamus'." Dean nodded toward his friend's bed. "I'm sure he won't mind. And if he does we won't be around to hear him rant."

The other Ron grabbed Seamus' broom. Pansy reluctantly took Neville's broom. Her face scrunched in disgust. Stealing was something the other Pansy would do. And to do it to someone as sweet as Neville . . .

_I'm sure he'll understand. It's to help Harry._

They waited a few minutes for Ginny, who ran to her room. She returned with two brooms.

"Here. This one belongs to one of my roommates." She handed the broom to Ron.

He didn't move. He just stared at her, the brightness in his face fading. His eyes narrowed.

"Well, do you want it or not?" Ginny snapped.

Ron started to open his mouth.

"Ron, just take it," Pansy ordered. "We have to go."

Ron snatched the broom from Ginny. He ran his eyes up and down it, as if checking for any jinxes she may have placed on it.

_Why can't he get past the fact this is a completely different Ginny?_

Pansy knew the answer all too well.

"So how do we get out of here without anyone noticing?" asked Dean.

"We'll go to the roof of the Gryffindor Tower." Ron still hadn't taken his eyes of Ginny, who now narrowed her eyes at him.

"But it's closed off to students," Hermione stated.

"Fred and George showed me a way to sneak up there."

"They did?" The other Ron gaped. "They never showed me."

"Well now you'll know about it. C'mon." With one last glare at Ginny, Ron stomped out of the room.

Pansy and the others followed.

"Do you think Harry, I mean, the Harrys, will find that Wand Supreme?" The other Ron asked her in a shaky voice.

"I don't know. But when it comes to big things like this, Harry's instincts turn out to be spot on more often than not."

And that terrified her.


	3. Chapter 3

_(OUR HARRY)_

Tension gripped Harry's muscles as he moved deeper into the Nefarium Caves. He scanned the rock walls with the glowing tip of his wand, and wondered what lay in the darkness beyond his light.

"How much further?" he asked his counterpart.

"We still have a bit to go."

"And if we do find the wand, that lighter you have can destroy it?"

The other Harry nodded. "It's filled with Blancosflame. White flame created to destroy objects of dark magic. If it worked on the Wand Supreme on my world, it should work here as well. Of course, if we do destroy the wand I still won't be out of danger."

"What do you mean?"

The other Harry peered over his shoulder, grinning. "Running off to find the Wand Supreme without telling Pansy? I think I'd rather face Voldemort than a furious girlfriend."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't know what that's like."

Harry stopped, closed his eyes and grimaced. He couldn't believe those thoughts formed into words. He cursed this jealousy he had for his counterpart. Why couldn't he get rid of it?

"Problem, mate?"

Harry opened his eyes. His counterpart turned around, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm sorry." Harry shook his head. "It's just . . . stupid thoughts, really."

"Come on, out with it. If you can't talk to yourself who can you talk to?"

Harry managed a small grin. "Ever since you got here, I just feel . . . jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?"

"You have a girlfriend who adores you. I don't. You have a relative who actually loves you. I don't. Even with Voldemort around, you still act . . . I don't know. You just seem to deal with it better."

The corners of the other Harry's mouth twitched. "Thanks for making me sound like some perfect hero. But I'm not. Things weren't always great between me and Aunt Petunia. And as much as I love her, every day I wish it was my mum and dad who see me off on the Hogwarts Express, or send me letters, or fix me lunch, or one day see me get married."

"See, you can think beyond Voldemort. I can't."

"Why?"

"Because with everything's that's happened, I just have this feeling when I meet him for the last time, I'm not going to get out of it alive. I feel like it's pointless to make plans for the future."

The other Harry's face hardened. "Or you make plans for the future because it gives you something to fight for, something to live for. Every night, before I go to bed, I think of me and Pansy, years from now, married, living in some cottage, raising our children. When I was at the Ministry last year fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters, that thought is what helped me fight him off when he tried to take possession of me."

He put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "You have the same burdens I do, but you can't let them rule your life. You have to make room for your hopes and desires. Otherwise, what are you fighting for?"

Harry sucked down a deep breath. God how he wanted to do that.

"It might be easier to think that way if I had someone to share a future with."

"There has to be someone you're interested in."

Harry chewed on his lip. He'd kept these feelings to himself for so long . . .

_If you can't talk to yourself, who can you talk to?_

"G . . . Ginny."

The other Harry's eyes widened. "Ginny Weasley? Seriously?"

"I don't know. She's Ron's sister. And she's with Dean, and he's a good friend. But every time I look at her I . . ."

After a few seconds of silence the other Harry shook his head. "What is it with us and girls who wind up in Slytherin on other worlds?"

A rumble started in Harry's stomach and rolled up his throat until it burst out of his mouth in laughter. Holding his stomach, he looked at his counterpart, who was also laughing. All the jealousy he'd felt toward him evaporated.

"Come on." The other Harry patted him on the back. "We can sort out your pathetic love life later. Right now let's find the Wand Supreme."

_(OUR DUMBLEDORE)_

Dumbledore groaned, trying to keep his frustration at bay. He and the other professors had been at it for hours. So far none of them had been able to open the portal that transported the alternate Harry, Ron and Pansy to this world.

"I think we're ready to give it a go, Headmaster," announced Sinistra, who was working on combining a port key with a Diversus Cube to open the portal.

"Then let's try . . .

A bright flash cut off Dumbledore's words. He and the other professors turned to the middle of the Great Hall. A fissure of white light hung above the floor. Moments later a robed figure with long gray hair and a beard stepped out of it. Dumbledore watched this mirror image of himself widen his eyes behind his glasses and slowly gaze at the professors.

"It appears we were right," said the other Dumbledore. "Miss Abbott's spell did open a portal to a parallel world."

Dumbledore bowed slightly. "Headmaster."

His counterpart nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet me."

The two Dumbledores shook hands.

"I see you had better luck finding a way to open the portal than we did," Dumbledore said.

"Yes. It took the combination of several different spells, but we succeeded. I just hope my wayward students weren't much trouble for you."

"None at all, though I wonder if we might keep your Pansy Parkinson in exchange for ours. Yours is by far more pleasant company."

"She's that bad on this world, is she?" the other Dumbledore grinned.

"Unfortunately."

"Much as you may desire that, I'm sure our Miss Parkinson is rather anxious to get home."

"Of course." Dumbledore turned to Professor McGonagall. "Minerva. If you'd be so kind as to fetch our guests."

McGonagall nodded and strode out of the Great Hall.

The Dumbledores passed the time comparing notes on one another. Dumbledore frowned when his counterpart informed him he'd given up sweets – bad for the digestion, according to him. That's when McGonagall hurried back into the Great Hall, her eyes wide and her face pale.

"Headmaster. Potter, Weasley and Parkinson, the ones from the other world. They're gone."

_(ALT RON)_

Ron's heart beat faster as they moved further into the Nefarium Caves.

"I hope You-Know-Who has something else guarding this cave besides bats." He shivered, his wand pointing to the roof.

"With my luck it'll be spiders." The other Ron gulped.

"Better them than bats, I say."

"I guess no matter which world it is you have to be afraid of some animal." Ginny shot an elfish grin first at the other Ron, then toward him. Ron felt his face muscles tighten. The only time he saw sister smile was when she tormented other students.

"All right. Enough."

Ginny suddenly jumped in front of him. He stumbled to avoid bowling over her.

"You're just as thick as my Ron is." Ginny folded her arms. "When are you going to get it that I'm not like that other Ginny?"

"It's not easy. Not when I look at your face and . . ."

The words froze on his tongue. With a frustrated grunt he tried to go around Ginny.

She blocked him. "Look. Hermione told me what I was like on your world. I'm sorry, okay. But _I_ am nothing like that."

"I want to think that. But instead I think back to . . ."

"To what?"

Ron's lips tightened. He shook his head and marched past Ginny.

"Will you talk to me, dammit!"

"I can't!" Ron spun around. "When I see the way you are on this world, I see what my sister could have been if I'd done what Mum told me to do."

"What do you mean?"

Ron bit his lip for a moment. "When you . . . my world's Ginny, started at Hogwarts, when she got sorted into Slytherin, Mum about had a heart attack. She told me to look after her. Keep her out of trouble. She didn't trust Fred and George with that. Mum was afraid they'd get her in bigger trouble. So she put the responsibility on me. I tried to steer her away from Malfoy and Lovegood and Cho Chang. But she wouldn't listen to me. If I'd been more insistent, if I'd just taken her by the arm and dragged her away from them . . . But I didn't. And after her first year, she stood in the middle of Platform Nine-and-a-half and, in front of a hundred people, and screamed at our parents that they were embarrassments and wished they were dead."

Ginny's mouth fell open. She staggered back, looking as though someone had just punched her.

"Oh Merlin." Her words came out in a whisper. "Ron, I'm so sorry."

Ron sighed and turned away. "I wish I could see you for who you really are, Ginny. The sister I wish I had. But after the past five years it's just too hard. I'm sorry."

Ginny just stared in silence at him. Her lips parted, but before she could say anything two voices firm pierced the air.

"Will you two come on."

Ron wheeled around and saw Pansy and the other Hermione staring at them.

With a snort, Ron started down the cave. He'd forgotten about any bats that may be hanging from the ceiling, ready to attack. Instead he visualized a family dinner with a kind, smiling, loving Ginny at the table.

He closed his eyes and let the vision fade. Why hope for something that would never happen?

_(ALT HARRY)_

"Watch out. This is where we were attacked by the bats."

Harry and his counterpart lifted their wands to the ceiling. They found no sign of any creatures

"I guess you don't have to go through that again."

"I guess." Harry gave his counterpart a half-hearted smile. "But we better keep alert. Voldemort's bound to have something guarding the wand."

They continued for twenty more meters before stopping at the darkened entrance to an ante-chamber. Nervous tingles raced up and down his body. This is where he found the altar where Voldemort tried to create the Wand Supreme. Memories of that day flashed through his mind . . . along with the terror of nearly losing his life.

He felt the Blancosflame lighter in his pocket for reassurance. With a deep breath, he stepped into the ante-chamber.

"Oh my God."

Sweat burst across Harry's forehead as he stared at the altar. On top of it rested five old wands pointed to a cylindrical groove in the center. Another groove pointing at the center was empty. Just like on his world, they'd discovered it before Voldemort could find the final wand.

"So he is trying to create a Wand Supreme on my world." Harry's stunned counterpart took a few hesitant steps forward. "I don't understand. How could Kingsley and Professor Lupin have missed this?"

"Voldemort must have had some sort of spell around it."

"But they checked for that." The other Harry turned to him. "And they didn't find anything."

Harry inhaled slowly. "Maybe . . . Maybe Voldemort cast some kind of spell where only he could see the altar."

"And because of our connection to him," the other Harry continued for him. "We can see it too."

A shiver went across his shoulders. They just had another Fred and George moment.

"Come on." He reached into his pocket for the lighter. "Let's burn it and get out of here."

Harry stepped toward the altar, his eyes darting around the cave. Any moment he expected something to emerge from the shadows. Voldemort wouldn't leave something like this . . .

Fire burned through his skull. He clasped his hand against his forehead and sank to the ground.

"Harry . . ." He strained to get the words out. "Harry . . . he knows."

He fell on his side. That's when he saw his counterpart also on the ground, writhing in agony.

Harry tried to fight through the pain. His hand dug into his pocket, fumbling for the lighter. It spilled out onto the ground.

A sharp hiss echoed through the ante-chamber. Harry rolled onto his back.

The head of a large snake hovered over him.

_(ALT RON)_

Ron heard his counterpart give an audible gasp as they entered the ante-chamber. He himself felt invisible cold fingers wrap around him.

Seven giant snakes loomed over the two Harrys.

"It's a Hydra." Hermione's voice quivered with fear.

Four of the triangular serpent heads snapped in their direction.

"Look out!"

Dean pushed Ginny to the ground as one of the heads shot forward. Ron and the others dove to avoid it.

"_Stupify!"_ Pansy yelled.

A blue flash of light bounced off the serpent. Its head trembled for a moment, then swung around to face Pansy.

Ron held out his wand. _"Constrictus!"_

Vines shot out of the cave floor and wrapped around the serpent's mouth.

Other Hydra heads attacked. Dean and Ginny fought them off with stunning spells and shield spells. Pansy tried to reach the Harrys, both of whom lay on the ground clutching their foreheads. Another Hydra head launched itself at her. Pansy deflected it with a shield spell.

Yet another serpent head opened its mouth, filled with rows of dagger-like teeth, and descended on one of the Harrys.

"HARRY!!" Hermione raised her wand. _"Retractum!"_

Both Harrys slid across the ground toward her. The serpent's head smashed through the rock floor where one of them had been laying seconds before.

Ron hurried over to the Harrys and Hermione, joined by Pansy. The other Ron, Ginny and Dean threw up a huge shield around them. The seven Hydra heads rammed it repeatedly.

"Are you okay?" Both Pansy and Hermione asked at the same time.

"Yeah." One of the Harrys said. He knew it was his moments later when he clutched Pansy's shoulder. "What are you doing here? Why did you bring them?"

"One, I didn't bring them. They offered to come themselves. Two, I came because, as I've told you time and time again, we're in this together. When are you going to get that through your thick damn head!?"

Pansy slapped him upside the head, then hugged him.

"So V-Voldemort's trying to create a Wand Supreme on our world, too." Hermione stared at the altar and the Hydra heads around it. "How could Lupin and Shacklebolt miss something like that?"

"You can see it?" The other Harry looked back at the altar. "Voldemort had a spell around it where only he could see the altar. We must have broken it when we came in here."

"Let's talk theory later," Harry, the other Harry, answered as he sat up. "Right now we have to destroy it."

"Where's the lighter?" Pansy asked.

"There."

Ron followed Harry's finger and saw a small gleam of silver next to the altar.

"Guys, I don't think we can hold it off much longer." Dean's face strained. He clutched his wand with both hands as the Hydra heads battered the shield.

"We'll handle those snakes." The other Harry looked to Pansy and Hermione, then turned to his double. "You get that lighter and destroy the wand."

Harry nodded and got to his feet.

"We have to get to its body!" Hermione shouted. "Hit it in the heart. That's the only way to kill it!"

"Ron! Ginny! Dean!" The other Harry hurried toward them. "When I say now, drop the shield and hit these snakes with everything you've got!"

The three nodded.

"NOW!!"

The shield vanished.

The Hydra heads shot forward, only to be met by a barrage of spells. Ron followed Pansy and Hermione to the left, firing one stunning spell after another. His eyes widened when he saw the other Harry step forward and raise his wandless hand.

"Harry! What . . .?"

Another voice emerged from the other Harry's mouth. Lower, raspier.

_Parseltongue!_ He was trying to talk to the Hydra.

The snakeheads stopped attacking. All of them turned their attention to the other Harry, who kept talking in Parseltongue.

His Harry rushed to the altar.

Ron grinned wide. "I can't believe it's working."

Suddenly two of the heads surged toward the other Harry. He jumped and rolled out of the way in the nick of time. His Harry ducked as another head swung at him.

"I bet V-Voldemort made it so the Hydra would only listen to him." Hermione tried a petrifying spell on a Hydra head. It only worked for a few seconds.

Ron looked back to the altar. One of the serpent heads dove for his Harry. Again he rolled out of the way . . . almost. The creature's mouth clamped down on Harry's robes and lifted him off the ground.

"NO!!" Pansy screamed. She aimed for the serpent's head, hesitated, then aimed her wand to the cave ceiling. She fired a Redactor Curse. An explosion echoed through the ante-chamber. Ron watched huge chunks of rock fall away from the Hydra's heads, landing right where its body should be.

All seven mouths opened and roared with pain. The one head that had Harry dropped him and shrieked. He hit the ground, wincing in pain. Moments later he forced himself to his knees and grabbed the lighter. Harry used the altar to pull himself up. He flicked the lighter. White flame rose from it.

Three of the serpent heads turned toward Harry.

Ron stepped forward and used a levitation spell to lift several of the boulders. With a snap of his arm he sent them flying at the serpent heads.

Two more heads dove at Harry. Ron was about to levitate more boulders when a streak of long red hair dashed out in front of him.

It was Ginny. She used her wand to pick up two boulders and drop them on the serpent heads. She did it again and again, driving the heads into the ground, splitting them open.

Ron had to blink several times. He never thought he would see this sight. Ginny, his sister, actually saving Harry. Actually saving anyone. His heart pounded. He drew a deep breath and started to smile.

"Ginny! Look out!" Dean shouted.

Ron turned left. A Hydra head came up behind Ginny and reared back.

"NOOO!!!"

He darted forward and pushed Ginny to the ground. Something knocked the breath out of him. Pain seared his body and destroyed his consciousness.

_(ALT HARRY)_

"RON!!!"

Harry barely registered Pansy's tortured cry. One of the serpent heads lunged at him, coming over the white flames burning the Wand Supreme. Again he rolled away from it. But the head turned its mouth open to reveal its sharp teeth. It hissed and moved toward him.

Harry felt for his wand. It wasn't in either hand.

The Hydra head drew closer. No time to find his wand. He drew back his legs, ready to kick.

"_Fountainus!" _

The white flames incinerating the Wand Supreme surged up from the altar. The serpent shrieked as the fire burned through its neck. The brilliant white flames spread to all the other heads. Harry grimaced at the sound of high-pitched, agonizing cries.

Suddenly all was silent. The white glow that engulfed the Hydra vanished, leaving behind piles of ashes.

Harry drew a deep breath, fighting off a wave of nausea from the stench of burnt flesh hanging in the air. He saw his counterpart, shoulders sagging in relief, wand clutched tightly in his hand.

"I guess I owe my life to . . . me." Harry grinned to himself and got to his feet.

"Harry," his other self whispered and pointed behind him.

Harry turned. What he saw almost made him collapse.

"Ron . . ." He remembered Pansy's scream. "Ron, no!"

The others gathered around Ron, who lay on his back surrounded by an expanding puddle of blood.

"Ron! Ron!" He fell next to him. Tears streamed down Harry's face. _This can't be happening._

"RON!!"

_(ALT RON)_

Someone called to him from a distance. Ron forced his eyes to open. He couldn't believe the effort it took for such a simple act.

Harry knelt over him. So did Pansy. Both clung to each other and cried.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He felt too weak to speak, too weak to move.

He always thought this moment would be painful and his soul overwhelmed by fear. Instead his body felt numb, and a sense of calm washed over him.

_It's going to be all right_, someone whispered from the recesses of his mind.

He scanned the faces around him. His Harry and Pansy, weeping. The other Harry, Ron and Dean stood over him with looks of shock. Hermione trembled and cried.

Then to his surprise Ginny leaned over him. A tear fell from her left eye and gently splash his chest.

In his mind he chuckled. Had this scene played out on his world Ginny would no doubt be laughing with macabre delight. Here she actually cried over him.

Ron summoned what strength he had and reached out. Ginny took his hand in both of hers. The tears flowed from her eyes uncontrollably.

He tried to say it, say the words he never expected to utter on his world. Words he would have given anything to say just once.

_Why can't I talk?_

With his last bit of strength, he squeezed his Ginny's hand.

_I love you, Ginny. My sister._

The darkness swallowed him.

_(ALT HARRY, THE NEXT DAY)_

Harry sat by the shore of the lake, staring into his lap. He briefly thought back to yesterday, all the times he pictured the three of them returning to their world and celebrating.

Ever since returning home, Harry had done nothing but cry.

He wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his robes. He had no idea how long he'd been sitting by the lake. He also didn't care. Right now Harry didn't want to be around other people. He sure as hell didn't want to go back to his room. All he'd do is look at Ron's bed and be forced to accept something he didn't want to.

Ron was gone.

So many times he glanced to his side, expecting Ron to be there, as he had for the past six years. His chest always tightened when he found no sign of his best friend.

"Harry?"

He turned around, ready to shout, "Leave me alone!" But he held his tongue. Pansy slowly made her way toward him.

"I just wanted to see . . ." She swallowed a breath and didn't bother finishing the sentence. Instead she knelt beside him. "I just stopped by Lavender's room. Shared a good cry with her. And I heard Hannah Abbott had a breakdown when she heard about . . . Ron." She uttered his name in a barely audible voice. "They took her to St. Mungo's. I don't know how long she's going to be there."

Harry just stared out at the water.

Pansy wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Harry slid an arm around her back as she started crying.

"I still can't believe . . ." Harry choked back a sob. "I don't want to believe he's gone. Not after everything we've been through."

He wiped his eyes with his free hand. "Why do I feel like I'm cursed?"

Pansy lifted her head off his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"It's like everyone that matters in my life winds up dead. Mum and Dad. Uncle Vernon and Dudley. Sirius. Now Ron." His body jerked with a sob. "I don't know how much more I can take."

He turned to face the girl who meant the world to him. "Pansy, I can't let anyone else I care about die. You . . . we . . . I don't think we . . ."

"Don't you dare." Pansy said each word deliberately.

"I'm already mourning my best friend! I'll be damned if one day I'm going to mourn the woman I love!"

"And you think the best way to protect me is to push me out of your life?"

"Too many people have died because of me."

"They died because of You-Know-Who and his followers."

"And if we stay together you may end up like them!"

Pansy's lower lip quivered. She reached out and cupped Harry's cheek. "I knew being with you meant accepting certain risks. But it's worth it. I love you, Harry Potter. I love that you're kind and brave and noble to a fault. I know you've had more pain in your life than anyone should, and I would give anything to see you don't suffer any more for the rest of your life. But if you walk away from me you'll just be creating more pain, for both of us."

She gently stroked his hair. "I want a future for us. With you as my husband, raising our children. Don't let You-Know-Who take that away from us."

Harry held his breath and stared into Pansy's beautiful, tear-streaked face.

"Stop thinking you have to go at this alone. We can face You-Know-Who together. I _want_ to be at your side every step of the way."

Harry's lips managed to curl into a half-smile. "I can just imagine what Ron would say if he were here. He'd probably tell me what a complete git I was for wanting to end it with you."

Pansy emitted a brief laugh. "He'd be right, too."

She settled into Harry's lap and hugged him. "I miss him so much."

"So do I." He hugged her tighter. "At least he got the one thing he really wanted before he died."

"What's that?"

"He finally got to see the sister he always wanted."

- THE END -


End file.
